The Chemistry of Quantum Materials

As chemists, we are familiar with guidelines and heuristics that help us to predict how
chemical reactions will proceed. My group is interested to expand these heuristics to
understand if we can predict topological materials, which is a class of quantum matter.
In this talk, I will show that delocalized chemical bonds in certain structural networks
allow us to define chemical descriptors that predict topological material. Using these
descriptors, we found a layered, antiferromagnetic van der Waals material with very
high mobility. This is the first time that these properties are combined in one material,
which is promising for applications in novel types of data storage or computing devices.
We further implemented our heuristics to discover novel complex topological phases,
including magnetic ones, and phases that are in competition with complex structural
distortions. I will show how structural distortions can have a positive effect on
topological band structures.
I will also briefly discuss the concept of chemical exfoliation for the synthesis of novel
2D quantum materials. With this method, we can exfoliate materials for which the scotch
tape method fails. I will show how we were able to synthesize a new chromium
chalcogenide this way, which might be a new 2D magnetic material.

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